Teach ESL Online: How to launch your career in ESL tutoring and solve your most common problems as a new ESL teacher
roseteachesenglishIf you have ever wondered how to get students to talk more, how to make a good lesson plan in less time, how to build student confidence, how to be more creative in class, how to teach pronunciation and grammar or how to get started teaching ESL online, this book is for you. This text is designed with practical and tested methods that work especially well for any new Adult ESL teacher who feels lost and in need of a little support figuring out the nuts and bolts of teaching.
The lessons I use are designed specifically for individuals or very small groups of adult learners at the pre-intermediate level or above and focus on speaking and pronunciation, but cover the other skills as well. The lessons work marvelously in both traditional and online classrooms. I believe that with a little work, the methods can be adapted to suit larger traditional classes as well.
This book is the result of my experience as a new ESL teacher searching for practical solutions to everyday struggles in and out of the classroom. It is my hope that my experience will save you a lot of time and frustration by providing you with practical solutions and answers to the most common difficulties encountered in teaching the Adult ESL student.
Here's what the book covers:
MODULE 1—Getting Started Pg. 9
Who is this book for?
What specific problem areas does this book address?
How is this book different from most ESL teaching textbooks?
What are students saying about this approach to learning?
Why does this method work so well?
How should I use this book?
Why should I try this method of teaching?
Getting started
MODULE 2—Lesson Planning Pg. 34
What lesson format works best online?
What is lesson planning?
Why is lesson planning so important?
How long should it take to plan a lesson?
Why do I need goals in lesson planning?
How are main lesson aims and student lesson goals different?
How can I design a great lesson in a short amount of time?
How much material should I have in order to be flexible in class?
How familiar do I need to be with the material?
How can I know what level my student is at?
Is it a good idea to keep using the same lessons over and over?
Where can I find good conversation questions on lots of topics?
Lesson-planning template
MODULE 3—Materials Pg. 79
What are ‘authentic materials?’
What are some advantages of using authentic materials?
Why should I use video in class?
Why should I use articles in class?
How can I use authentic materials effectively?
How long should in-class video clips be?
How can I select the right level of materials for my students?
What types of video or article I can use, and what kinds of questions can I ask the student about them?
How can I convert a video clip or article into something I can use effectively in class?
MODULE 4—Student Confidence Pg. 106
Why should I try to make my students feel special?
How can I make my students feel special?
How can I make my students feel more confident?
Why should I make my students feel good about their mistakes?
How can I get my students to talk more?
MODULE 5—Error Correction Pg. 135
When should I correct student errors?
When should I not correct student errors?
Which student errors should I correct?
What are some of the most common pronunciation problems?
How can I correct ‘individual sound’ pronunciation mistakes?
How can I correct choppy speech?
How can I get my student to shorten and combine words?
How can I correct intonation problems?
How can I visually represent pronunciation in an understandable way?
What are voiced and unvoiced sounds?
How can I correct for mispronounced ‘-ed’ ending in past simple?
How can I correct when the student leaves off ends of words (-ed/-s/-ing)?
How can I correct mispronounced vocabulary?
What are some of the most common grammar errors and how can I correct them?
MODULE 6—Teacher Improvement Pg. 207
Confidence:
How can I become a more confident teacher?
Learning what to teach:
How can I learn the grammar I need to teach?
What if I don’t know enough academic vocabulary?
Creativity:
How can I be more creative in class?
Professionalism:
What are the elements of professionalism?
How can I be diplomatic when students wish to discuss religion, politics or regional disputes?
What if I’m having a bad day? How can I get over my failures quickly?
What should my work space look like?
Improving your teaching:
How can I become a better teacher?
MODULE 7 – Teaching the Skills Pg. 234
How can I teach reading?
How can I teach writing?
How can I teach speaking?
How can I teach listening?
How can I teach vocabulary?
How can I teach pronunciation?
How can I teach grammar more effectively?
MODULE 8—Timing the Lesson Pg. 284
What is ‘timing’?
Why is timing important?
How much time should I spend on each section of the lesson?
What should I do if I run out of material before the time is up?
What should I do if I run out of time before I get through all the material?
How can I improve my lesson timing?
How can I make talkative students stop talking when I want to change direction or end the class?
MODULE 9—Launching Your Tutoring Business Pg. 299
What are some considerations with teaching online?
What are the main steps to launching my online tutoring business?
What kind of certification do I need?
What other training should I pursue?
How can I find students so I can build my online tutoring business?
How much should I charge per hour?
How do I get paid?
How do I manage scheduling?
Which platform should I use for lessons?
How can I stay connected?
Is it hard to find places to teach my classes if I’m traveling a lot?
How fast does my internet connection need to be?
Can I use my mobile device to teach?
How well do mobile 4-G hotspots work?
Can I teach from a library or internet café?
What kind of headset do I need?
How can I make the leap from teaching at a school to working for myself?
How many lessons should I plan ahead before I start teaching?
What are my options for a job at the entry level?
How can I make a great introductory video?
How can I make a great profile?
How long should it take to make my business sustainable?
MODULE 10—More Help Pg. 350
Where can I find more information and get extra help?
How can I get really good at teaching?
Teacher Improvement Chart
Reflection Journal